Pros:
1) Nice John Houck Design Signs with all the information needed. Hole #, Distance, and Par, along with a really nice graphic designed hole map. There is also an entire course map at the first hole which is cool.
2) Garbage cans available in a few spots throughout this course. There also is a picnic area off to the side of one of the holes which I thought was pretty cool
3) Bright new discatcher baskets witht he bright yellow band make finding the baskets in these low hanging Live Oaks much easier.
4) Decent beginner friendly course because it has a decent mix of open holes and wooded holes. It isn't nearly as punishing as the Gold course with its tight tunnel type fairways.
5) No undergrowth on this course to speak of. Whatever may have been in the way off the fairways must have been cleared and killed whn the nstalltion happened . . . or this Live Oak Grove was naturally formed like this.
6) Low ceiling comes into play on multiple holes because of all the sprawling Live Oak trees. There are not super old or at least they are not as big as Live Oaks can get.
7) Playground located just off the first tee along with some bathrooms and some garbage cans.
8) Design on this property just takes all sorts of cool little spots and integrates them flawlessly into a cool course. It is well routed and flows well.
9)There is a really good mix of shots needed on this course, skip shots work well from time to time, sometimes an overhand shot might be called upon (not by me as I cannot throw that shot), hyzers, anhyzers, straight shots. Just bring your whole arsenal if you want to make birdies!
10)The distance varies nicely presenting you with all sorts of shots needed to approach the baskets. The shortest is listed at 174' and the longest is listed at 499'.
11) 2 - 9 hole loops allowing for a quick 9 hole round as well as the option of playing all 18, plus there is another course on the property if you want to stay all day. I love courses like this!
12) Pretty cool topography and land use. There are all sorts of sandy little pockets, almost like you are on the beach. I assume some of the area had to be dredged to keep the canal open into Corpus Christi, but this seemed to be mostly natural.
12) Number 4 is an interesting hole. You start aimed right at a 25' tall grove of trees not more than 50-100' in front of you. There is a landing area just over this grove of trees and off to the side. The firther left you are the better, but the next shot is up a tight little runway. It is all set on white sandy soil and it literally feels like you are playing on a beach. It is probably one of the more unique holes I had seen so far on the trip. It is definitely one that I recommend scouting the hole first.
13) Water in play on one hole but there is also enough room to avoid the risk of losing a disc. I like it when water carries are not forced, but they are the risk/reward option.
14) Nice concrete tees are available, which is nice considering how sandy the soil is and how bad the footing might be with a full runup.
Cons:
1) There was an immense amount of garbage on the first few holes strewn all through the wooded holes. I was shocked, but perhaps some clearing had been done and the garbage had been in the undergrowth, I just really couldn't tell.
2) This may be nitpicky but it is hard to find things wrong with this course . . . the tee on #10 is hard to find after playing #9. You can always look at the map by the first hole, but the tee is hidden back behind the corner of the tennis or basketball court in the far southwest side of the park.
3) The 11th hole is a little weak only because it runs down a gravel roadway. it is hard to see the basket from the tee, but you know you need to keep it fairly straight because of the thick brush on both sides of the path.
4) I guess although I like the sandy soils, it also does cause some footing issues from time to time. The sand is fairly loose and soft so you might twist an ankle if you plant wrong or int he wrong location.
5) Definitely little to no elevation change, but I do think some little hollows and rises are used well on some of the holes. They did what they could on this mostly flat piece of land, but that doesn't change the fact that it is totally flat.
Other Thoughts:
This course is a fun beginner friendly option to the Gold Course (the other more challenging and longer course on the property). I am a decent player yet I still had a lot of fun. It is my type of course though, tight and technical. It doesn't require a lot of big throws which is nice, but ti does put a premium on accuracy.
I would definitely spend an entire day here by myself and play the red course multiple times as a warm up for the Gold Course. They are both equally fun, the Gold course is just a lot more challenging and longer, but both are outstanding designs and have a lot of cool unique holes.